As economy improves, Randolph trucking company grows

As the economy continues to improve, a trucking company based in Randolph County is expecting significant growth this fall, with plans to add five full-time drivers and invest $500,000 in five Mack Pinnacle trucks.

David Jarrett, director of safety and human resources for Seagrove-based Chief Express, said the additions will bring the company's employee count to 73 and its number of trucks to 56. The additions are expected to help the company reach $12 million in sales this year, up from $10 million in 2012.

Jarrett said the growth stems from serving customers with a major presence in the Triad, including sportswear company Gildan Activewear Inc., which has a location in Eden, and cereal maker Malt-O-Meal, which recently added 50 jobs to its expanded Asheboro plant.

Chief Express, founded by President Kennan Hill, hauls freight to 34 states as far west as Texas and up and down the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. The company's average length of haul one way is 500 miles.

Chief Express is adding the workers and trucks as the industry locally and beyond is experiencing a shortage of drivers. But Jarrett doesn’t believe Chief Express will have difficulty finding workers thanks to the company’s pay and benefits package that includes seven holidays and up to three weeks paid vacation after eight years of service.

“We take care of our employees,” Jarrett said. “We know everybody by name here. Nobody is a number here.”

There were 27,400 people employed in the region's transportation industry in June, up 3.4 percent from 26,500 in June 2012, he said. Unemployment for the Triad for June was 9.7 percent, down slightly from 10 percent a year earlier. So the transportation sector is not only outpacing broader employment growth, but is a bellwether.

“When goods are being produced and being sold, that is going to create shipments,” Jud said. “That is a very strong sign that the economy is moving in the right direction.”